Endless Dark
by Plaxxramas
Summary: Shinken has always dreamed of being a ninja so she could help others in need. And that she's finally gradutated from the academy, she's about to learn that life as a ninja isn't going to be all that easy.


**To anyone who reads this, this is my first Naruto fic. I usually stick to writing Yu-Gi-Oh stories, but I want to break away and write about other anime. This is also my first time writing about a female main character. This fic's opening theme song is Endless Dark by HIM**

_Softly the light shines in through_

_The gates of grace on me and you_

_Deceiving our restless hearts_

_A flickering flame so serene_

_It fires the night so we could see_

_The feeling we hold on to so strong_

_And I know where I belong,_

_Away from your gods_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless… dark_

_Endless…dark_

_This endless dark_

_Lonely the light shines on you_

_Through the gates of fire entombed_

_Feeding on your love_

_Weak is the blaze that kept me away_

_From cruelty and tenderness embraced_

_Saving my soul no more_

_And I know where I belong,_

_Away from your gods_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless… dark_

_Endless…dark_

_This endless dark_

_I know where I belong,_

_Away from your gods_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless dark_

_That heal all wounds, heal all wounds_

_Heal all wounds and light this endless dark_

_That shines on you and tame your burning heart_

_That bury my truth right into your arms_

_That worship the tomb of our forlorn love_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless dark_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless dark_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless dark_

_That heal all wounds and light this endless dark_

Twilight had befallen the Village Hidden in the Plains. The village was one of only a few places that let you feel safe, even at night. The small city was always quiet. The citizens talked, laughed, shouted, lived like normal people. They were no different than the people of any other ninja village. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that it wasn't as big as some of the other ninja villages like its friendly neighbor: The Hidden Leaf Village. Or maybe it was because it was surrounded by peaceful plains that didn't carry sound. Whatever it was, it kept sound from resonating very far from the village's wells, deeming it the nickname, "The Hidden Village of Silence".

It wasn't a very populated village to say the least. Only twelve students graduated from the village's ninja academy this year. Of them was fourteen year old Shinken Yuhi. Years ago, her grandmother Kurenai Yuhi, came to the Village Hidden in the Plains from the Hidden Leaf Village when she was pregnant with Shinken's father. Shinken's mother and father died when she was still little, so she doesn't have any memories of them. Now, Shinken lives with her grandmother in the Hidden Village of Silence.

Shinken sat in her room. It was nearing 11:30. She looked out her bedroom window at the village blanketed by night.

"Ohhh, I'm too excited to sleep. Tomorrow I finally become part of a ninja squad. I can't imagine who I'll be teamed up with. Supposedly I'm part of the biggest rookie group in years". She closed her curtains and turned back to her room. Hanging on the outside of her closet were the clothes she planned to wear tomorrow. They were the same style clothes her grandmother used to wear. The only difference was the headband. Shinken had seen her grandmother's ninja headband. It had a blue strap and the symbol of the Leaf Village on the head protector. Shinken's however, had a white strap and carved into the head protector was a sun with eight sunbeams shooting out; the symbol of the Hidden Plains Village.

Shinken stepped in front of a large mirror on her wall. The spitting image of Kurenai in her youth, Shinken was a beautiful young woman. Her long black hair fell down to her shoulder blades. She had big, bright red eyes and a cute, round nose. Her cheeks were full and soft and naturally warm to the touch. Her arms were delicate, but strong from ninja training. She had a rather large chest with high, firm breasts and a thin waist. There were sexy curves at her hips and her long, slender legs were naturally smooth. Shinken liked the way she looked. And so did the boys and young men in the village.

But under Shinken's gorgeous exterior was a gentle, sweet, kind-hearted girl. She knew she looked good, but she didn't want people to like her for her looks. She wanted people to like her for her, for who she was. She looked herself up and down and smiled. She winked at her own reflection and stuck out the tip of her tongue, a cute gesture she had done since she was little.

"I wonder who my sensei will be", she thought out loud. "It's not like there are many to pick from".

Elsewhere, in a distant land, another young ninja was moving quickly through a swamp. The ground below him was covered in thick, green water. Strange creatures inhabited these swamps and travel at night through them was possibly one of the most dangerous tasks in the ninja world. But this particular individual seemed to have no trouble with it at all. Trees grew in weird shapes from the water below. The trunks were severely twisted, dipping and rising and making humps. The ninja jumped from tree branch to tree branch, making his way through the deadly forest. Before lone, he reached an extremely large tree with a hole in the trunk. He stopped outside and walked through the hole. The interior of the tree was hollowed out and candles were spread throughout the tree. In the middle of the hollowed tree stood a man silhouetted by the shadow in the tree.

"You asked me to meet you here?" the young ninja asked, making sure he was supposed to be there.

"Yes, I needed to see you before tomorrow. I'm sure you've guessed who you'll be teamed up with for your ninja squad seeing how there are only two other ninja in the village", he said.

"Yeah, I figured as much", the young ninja replied. "And if I had to guess, I'd say you're going to be our sensei".

"Nothing gets by you", the man said in a half sarcastic tone.

"So why did you want me to come out here by myself so late at night?"

"Because I have a few things I need to give you and I don't want your mother to worry about you while you receive them". The ninja narrowed his eyes in curiosity. "The first being your ninja headband. Only full ninja get to wear these". He held out a folded piece of cloth and the young ninja accepted it. He unfolded the black cloth and inspected the metal head protector in the middle. Engraved in the very middle was a skull without a lower jaw. "You are now a full fledged ninja".

"Thank you sensei", the young ninja said with appreciation. "What else is it that you wanted to give me?" he asked. He tied the headband under his long black hair.

"What I am now about to give you are not things you are to take lightly. You'll probably hate them at first, but in time you'll grow to like them and understand why you have them. Just know this; these gifts will make you stronger". The ninja looked at the sensei in disbelief. "Look on the ground around you; do you know what those are?"

The ninja looked at his feet and could just barely make out strange symbols on the floor of the tree. "I'm sorry sensei, I do not", he answered.

"They are symbols for seals. There are three seals that I have developed that can only work if they are used on you. These seals will leave curse marks on you. But they will also make you stronger than you could ever be on your own", the sensei explained.

The ninja looked around at the symbols again, then back to the man. "So how do they work?" The sensei held up two fingers.

"Hold out your right hand", he instructed. The ninja complied by rolling back his sleeve, revealing his arm from the elbow down. A faint blue aura surrounded the sensei's hand as he channeled his chakra into it. "I hope your tolerance for pain is high, because this is going to hurt like a bitch". He slammed his fingers down on the back of the ninja's hand. An agonizing scream filled the swamp around the tree.

Shinken sat down on her bed and laid back, leaving her legs hanging off. She rubbed the palms of her hands over her eyes and sighed. "How am I ever going to get to sleep?" she complained. She slid her hands off her eyes and through her long, black hair as she sat up. She looked at the clock next to her bed. It was now a little after midnight.

"Ohhh, I'm going to be so tired tomorrow. What will I do if we have a mission?" She climbed onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow.

In another house in the Village Hidden in the Plains, a boy with spiky brown hair was sweating profusely. He was in his bedroom doing pushups. His lively green eyes were squinted to prevent the sweat from running into them. His face neared the wooden floor and he clenched his teeth tightly. A drop of sweat fell from his nose and dropped on the floor.

_'Come on, one more. One more for Shinken'_, he thought. He closed his eyes and pushed himself up until his arms were straight before falling flat on the ground. He rolled over with a wide smile on his face. He moved some of his soaked hair out of his face. He lay on the floor for a few minutes as he cooled down. Once he was breathing steadily, he stood up and his arms fell limp at his sides.

He turned his attention to his window and looked out at the moon. "That was for you Shinken. Someday, I will show you how strong I have become and I'll win your heart", he said determinedly.

"Aww, that's so cute. You do all that training for Shinken", came a semi-mocking voice from his doorway. He whipped around to see an older girl standing in the door. She had narrow, green eyes and long, curly brown hair. She was very skinny. In fact, she looked almost frail. She was wearing a pair of pink and white pajamas. She took a step in to the room. "Uwabari, you're sooo cute", she said and giggled.

"Laugh if you want, Tally. But someday I will prove that I'm the strongest ninja to ever come out of the Hidden Village of Silence. And when I do, Shinken will realize how great I am and want to be with me", he said with the same determination in his voice.

"Is that why you only practice Taijutsu? So everyone can see your raw strength? You know, it's impossible to be the strongest ninja if you never use ninjutsu or genjutsu", Tally said to her little brother. He gave her an annoyed look.

"I use some genjutsu. But I don't see any honor in fighting with tricks like genjutsu. And ninjutsu doesn't display strength, it just lets ninja do things they couldn't normally do. What I'm doing is training and building strength in my muscles", he argued.

"Uh huh, and what happens when you can't beat someone because your taijutsu isn't working?" Tally asked. Uwabari put his hands on his hips and looked away in a pouting sort of manner.

"Then I'll just train harder until I can defeat them", he threw at her. Tally grinned.

"What about on missions? If another ninja beats you in a mission because you don't use ninjutsu, what will you do? You can't train harder if you're dead!" she protested. Uwabari opened his mouth to argue, but stopped and looked at her. She smiled triumphantly at her little brother. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you have to say to that?"

"GET OUT!!" he shouted at her. She just shook her head and turned to leave but stopped.

"By the way, you should get to sleep. You're gonna want to be rested when you see _Shinken_ tomorrow", she said. Then she jumped when a pillow smacked into the wall beside her. She looked back at her brother whose arms were still weak. "Oh yeah, nice throw", she added sarcastically and left. Uwabari turned back to his window and looked in the direction of Shinken's house.

"I will become strong enough to defeat any ninja and I will win Shinken's heart", he said aloud.

Shinken rolled over and looked at her clock. Twenty minutes passed midnight. "Argh! I'm never going to fall asleep. I'm going to show up too tired to do a mission and they're gonna say I'm not ready to be a ninja and they'll send me back the ninja academy". She closed her eyes sat back up and went over to the clothes she planned on wearing the next day. She again checked to make sure that everything was there. She made sure she had enough kunai and shuriken. Then she went back to her bed.

"I'll probably be the first ninja in the village to ever have to go back to the academy", she said. She laid back down. "Why do they have to tell us when we're being put into squads? Why can't they just tell us or send us a letter? That way we don't have to be up all night thinking about tomorrow". She turned her head on its side and looked at her clock. Twelve thirty. Shinken let out a small groan and covered her eyes with her arm, resting the bridge of her nose in her elbow pit. But before she could have another thought, she drifted off to sleep.

An elderly woman with stunning red eyes looked in the room and saw Shinken fast asleep on the bed. She smiled and turned off the light. After a few steps she sighed and chuckled. "Fourteen years old and that jutsu still puts her to sleep. Maybe now that she's quiet I can get a little shut eye", Kurenai said to herself.

It was five in the morning when Shinken's alarm went off. She jumped up from the surprise of the loud ringing. She turned off the alarm and rubbed her eyes. "I guess I was able to fall asleep after all". She stood up and stretched. She walked over to the closet and changed into the clothes she set aside. She walked over to the mirror and looked at her hair. She picked up the brush on her desk and ran it through her hair a few times and looked at it. She picked up a stick of bright red lipstick and put it on along with her eye shadow. She then reached into her hair and gave it a light shake. She moved it out of her eyes and smiled.

"Ah, perfect", she said satisfied. She smiled and stuck out the tip of her tongue. She grabbed her ninja gear and went downstairs and walked to the front door. "Grandma, I'm leaving for the academy now. I'll see you when I get home", she called back.

"Shinken, don't forget to eat your breakfast. You want to be at your top physical condition when you meet your sensei", Kurenei responded from the kitchen. Shinken looked down at her growling stomach. She walked into the kitchen.

"Thanks for reminding me", she said as she began to eat. Once she was full, she excused herself and left for the ninja academy. She looked up at the clear blue sky on her way to the academy.

_'Well, today's the day. I'm going to be put on my first ninja squad with my first sensei. And today's the day I become a real ninja_'. She thought.

"Hey Shinken, wait up", called a voice behind her. She turned around to see the Uwabari running up to her.

"Hi Uwabari. Can you believe it? Today we get placed on our ninja teams. Whose team do you think you'll be on?" she asked. Uwabari was five inches taller than her. He looked down into her beautiful red eyes.

_'Hopefully I'll be on the same team as you'_, he thought and blushed. He looked down at his shoes.

"Um…I…I don't know. I guess I'll have to wait and see", he said. Shinken smiled up at him.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" she asked. "Let's hurry up and get to the academy so we can find out who we'll be on a team with". She turned and started walking. Uwabari followed a step behind. The whole way, he looked at her and blushed. It didn't take long for them to get to the village's ninja academy. Once in, they found their seats in their old classroom. They sat down and waited for their former teacher to arrive. Shinken looked around the classroom at the other rookies. Uwabari Tosshin sat in front of her. He was one of her favorite classmates. He was funny and had always nice to her. But he seemed to get really nervous sometimes when they would talk.

Next to him was Mattaki Junsei. Mattakei had straight black hair that he kept parted exactly in the center. Everyday, he kept his shirts tucked into his pants. And everything he had was perfectly organized. Mattaki was a perfectionist and everything about him had to be exactly the right way, otherwise he'd fix it to his liking.

And next in the row was a girl with long blonde hair. She wore more makeup than Shinken. And a mirror sat on her desk. Her name was Genki Mie. She was the vainest person Shinked had ever known. When they were little, they had been best friends. But one day, Genki came out and told Shinken that she was ugly and would never be as pretty as her. Shinken ran home crying and the two hadn't really talked since. Shinken thought Genki was pretty, but just too conceited. But she wasn't the type to hold a grudge. Besides, the guys in the village thought Shinken looked better without her trying to.

To Shinken's right was Ursa Chi. Ursa was a very small boy. He looked like he was at least four years younger than everyone else in the class. He was a shy boy and was easily frightened. He had short brown hair and oversized hands. He usually wore a fur coat to school over his clothes.

And the last person in the row was Juudou. Shinken had never actually talked to him. Everyone else seemed to like him, but she just never had a chance to talk to him and get to know him. He had spiky blonde hair and boring brown eyes. He would wear pieces of armor on his clothes everyday and was a pretty clever person. Whenever someone would insult him, he'd find a way to reverse it back on them.

Shinken turned around to see the person behind her. It was Sousakuryoku Isai, the genius in the class. The boy had managed to score over a hundred in the class. His white hair was untamed and rarely did the others see him without a pencil behind his ear. He was usually daydreaming. But only because he would finish the work early and bored.

And next to him was Kikyuu Shou. He kinda creeped Shinken out. He had very large blue eyes and they were always darting around at everyone and everything. He was a great fighter. When they would spar, Kikyuu could find anyone's pressure points and immobilize them immediately. And when they would train with shuriken, he could land every target perfectly. As creepy as he was, Shinken expected him to be the best in the class. And next to him was Rahbou Sobou.

Shinken never liked Rahbou. The first time they had met, Rahbou pushed her down and kicked dirt all over her. Rahbou had short black hair that she ties into a side ponytail. She would wear boys' clothes and would insult Shinken as well as Genki for being pretty and taking the time to care about how they looked.

The first seat in the last row was Hakuchi Chijin. He was the complete opposite of the genius who sat in front of him. He had the lowest grade in the class. And he didn't try to improve it. He usually slept in class. The other kids would make fun of him for being stupid and thought it was even funnier that he was too stupid to copy off of Souskuryoku.

To Hakuchi's right was Itsu Yasuragi. Itsu was a nice boy. Shinken liked hanging out with him because he was the one who would break up the fights that occurred at the school. He never said anything mean and was always nice to Shinken. She often wished she could say things that made people happy like him.

And the last rookie was Yuukyou Hitori. She was a quiet girl. She didn't have any friends in the class. In fact, she didn't have any friends at all. Shinken had tried to talk to her before, but everytime Yuukyou would just ignore her and walk away. But it wasn't like a snobby ignoring, it was more like it was done out of fear. She had short black hair with dark purple streaks in it.

Shinken noticed that their sensei, Shotou, had entered the room and was standing in front of the class with a scroll. Shotou was an old ninja. She was one of the founding ninja of the village and had been working in the ninja academy since it opened. She looked around at the rookie ninjas.

"I've been teaching students to become ninja ever since this village was started", she said sadly. "And of all my classes, I've never had one as wonderful as this one. This is the first time a class has produced twelve graduating ninja". She wiped a tear from her eye. "I just know all of you will do well. Now then, why keep you waiting any longer?" She looked down at the scroll in her hand.

'_Here it is'_, Shinken thought excitedly.

Shotou sensei looked up. "The first squad is Kikyuu Shou as the leader with Yuukyou Hitori and Ursa Chi. You will be the White Squad. You will meet your sensei in room six", she looked at the scroll again. "Next is the Ground Squad. It will be led by Sousakuryoku and he will be working with Genki Mie and Hakuchi Chijin".

Genki's jaw fell open as she looked at her teammates. _'The nerd and the idiot? What kind of team is that?'_ she asked herself.

Shotou went on. "Then we have Uwabari Tosshin leading the Leaf Squad. Your teammates will be Shinken Yuhi and Juudou". Uwabari was so excited he leapt into he air and swung his fist into the air.

"YES!!", he shouted. He turned around to look at Shinken. "I guess we're gonna be teammates", he said. Shinken smiled back.

"Yup, us and Juudou", she replied. The two of them looked over at their third teammate. Juudou didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"And that just leaves us with the last team", Shotou continued. "Mattaki Junsei will be leading Rahbou Sobou and Itsu Yasuragi on the Silence Squad". Rahbou looked back at Itsu, who merely smiled and waved. She turned back around and put her head on her desk.

'_Poor Itsu, having to get stuck on a team with Rahbou. I'm glad I have nice people on my team'_, she looked down the row at Juudou. He still hadn't looked at either of his teammates. _'At least, I think they're both nice. Well I know Uwabari is nice'_.

"Alright rookies, go on and meet your new sensei's", Shotou said. All twelve of the new ninja stood up and exited the room. Uwabari, Juudou, and Shinken all entered room eight. Standing inside was an older ninja.

"I take it you are our Jonin sensei", Juudou said upon seeing the ninja. It was a woman. She had big, gorgeous blue eyes and shoulder length black hair. She wore a Plains Village vest over her ninja clothes.

"That's correct", she said. "And you three must be my new squad". She looked at the rookies for a second. Shinken was surprised to see how young their sensei was. "Well I think the first thing we should do is introduce ourselves and tell a bit about ourselves". She looked at her new squad. "Okay, I'll go first. My name is Toppyoushimonai. But you can call me Toppy for short. I like to do be adventurous and take risks and I can be a little crazy sometimes. Now one of you go".

Uwabari took a step forward. "I'm Uwabari Tosshin and I'm the greatest ninja to come out of the Village Hidden in the Plains", he jumped up on the desk. "And someday, I'll prove it". Shinken smiled up at him. Juudou looked with a less-than-impressed kind of stare.

"My name is Shinken Yuhi, and I want to be a ninja so I can help anyone who may need it", she said. Uwabari jumped down from the desk.

"Shinken, that's a great dream to have", he said and blushed. He looked down at his shoes.

"Okay, and how 'bout you?" she said to Juudou. "Tell us a bit about yourself".

Juudou thought for a second. "My name is Juudou, and I want to become a strong enough ninja to take care of myself", he answered. Shinken looked curiously at Juudou. For the first time, he looked back at her. He didn't say anything, and a few seconds later he looked back at the sensei.

"Well, now that we all know each other, I think it's time we did a little exercise. Let's go out to the training zone", she said. And so the three Genin followed their Jonin sensei out of the room.

**So Shinken has been placed on her first ninja squad. And it looks as though her teammates are two very different people. What kind of exercise could Toppy have in mind?**

**Well, there it is. The first chapter of my first Naruto fic. I hope liked it because I enjoyed writing this chapter. Please review.**


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